The demographic again process of Izmir and public services provided to the elderly popülation

Demographic aging is rapidly increasing with increasing urbanization, led by developed countries worldwide. European countries, as well as some African, Asian, and Latin American countries that participated in industrialization later, are also moving towards the demographic aging process. The situation that spreads throughout the world in this inevitable cycle is called the "global aging process." As a result of the policy adopted by the state to increase the population in the first period of the Republic of Turkey, the elderly rate in the country's population, which gained a dynamic structure, was determined as 3.9% in 1965. In the following years, the country's population entered a demographic aging process due to main reasons such as decreasing fertility and increasing average lifespan due to urbanization and changing socioeconomic structure, along with migration from rural to urban areas. As of 2023, the elderly rate in our country has reached 10.2%. With this proportion of elderly people, Türkiye falls into the category of "very old countries" according to the WHO definition. The elderly population is more concentrated in cities today. Accordingly, the concept of an "age-friendly city" is developing all over the world. The services provided to elderly individuals in cities are increasing. In this study, data on demographic aging in Izmir during the Republic period were presented and the factors affecting demographic aging were tried to be examined. In our country, where a significant part of the population lives in cities, making cities suitable for the elderly and providing the services needed by the elderly population has also taken its place in the development plans. In this context, the other part of the study covers the services that Izmir offers to elderly individuals in the context of an age-friendly city.